Archive for the ‘Technology in Sport’ Category

The National Hockey League has had a different history of TV rights deals than most other sports leagues. The first broadcaster of NHL games was CBS. TV rights have also been sold to ESPN, ABC, FOX, and Versus. These networks would have exclusive rights for games that they wanted to televise. The NHL has also had teams seek out their own local TV rights deals. This means the owner for instance of the Colorado Avalanche would seek a deal from a local station such as Altitude. Then for the playoffs, the NHL would sell their rights to a network such as NBC to televise playoff series. They would then sell exclusive rights to the Stanley Cup finals. NBC now has the rights to NHL games and local stations have broadcasting rights.

These TV rights deals have continued to escalate. In 2000 the TV rights deal was worth $120 million a year. In 2012 the rights were worth $200 million a year. In 12 years the worth of the NHL’s TV rights has almost doubled. With major networks such as ESPN, ABC, CBS, and FOX wanting in on broadcasting the NHL, it is expected that this number will only increase every year.

I think this has occurred because of the escalating interest in the sport of hockey. More and more great athletes are turning to hockey. This is causing a rise in interest. Fans of sports are also turning to hockey as an alternative to football during the winter and spring. With increased viewership TV deals rights will only become more lucrative for the NHL. The NHL also has a great playoff system that features four rounds before the final. With most playoff series going at least five games, networks have more opportunity to run sponsorships on the most watched games. I think the NHL will have bigger TV deals in the future because of this growing interest.

The Real Madrid website not only supports soccer, as I assumed, but also basketball. It supplies information on the teams and players, and also on lower tier teams that Real Madrid pulls from. Two way communication on the site consists of the club’s social media outlets, with links to Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. Customer service can also be reached through some email and phone numbers linked on the page. The main focus of the page is showing the success of the team, as well as education on the sport for new or foreign fans.

In comparing this site to the site of the Chicago Cubs, a major difference that I notice in two way communication is the ability to enter your personal information on the front page and ask a question without delving any deeper into the site. The team also has more social media outlets linked from the front page, including instagram and pinterest, sites based more on showing team merchandise and sponsors than fan outreach. In addition, a readily found app is linked from the home page, enabling fans to stay connected to their team 24/7. Community outreach seems to be much more predominant on the Cub’s site than Real Madrid’s, with three noticeable links right from the beginning, whereas Real Madrid’s does not seem to host any links anywhere on the site. I was surprised to find a language translator to 5 different languages on the top bar of the page, including Japanese, Korean, and Spanish. This makes sense, due to the popularity of baseball in the far eastern Asian countries, and the proximity of Mexico to not only the U.S., but the hugely popular Cactus League of spring training.

The main differences between the two sites seem to be Real Madrid’s focus on success and education, compared to the Cub’s focus on fan connection and community outreach. Part of the Cub’s fan connection includes their availability of team attire, whereas Real Madrid does not seem to have any.

I believe that golf is the most challenging sport to play and one of the most exciting, but others would disagree. People say golf is too slow and too boring to follow, but the PGA has created new ways of making golf entertaining for all ages. In my article, “The Golf world is stepping up its digital game” talks about how they are making golf more exciting and more attracting to sports fans. As some may have noticed, the pga and sponsers of the pga are releasing new and improved outfits that are veering away from the traditional golf wear. One of the main examples of this is Ricky Fowler, he is always sporting bright, vibrient colors on every tour which is catching the eye of young golf fans. With this new line of gear, it has, in my eyes, made golf more attracting and exciting to watch. Golfers are now starting to look like other athletes such as football and basketball players where they focus alot on their image, which in return has more fans following athlettes on instagram and twitter.

Another tactic that the PGA has established through social media is how humorous and outgoing these athletes can be. It is portrayed on television through the PGA tour that these professional golfers are no fun games, its all serious business, but through twitter and instragram these golfers are showing a different side of their life. There are examples of Ricky Fowler, Bubba Watson and Rory Mcllroy showing the golf community that their personalities are more than just a serious golf face. These athletes are posting videos on a average day at the golf course with there buddies having a good time and shootin the shit, which is exactly what golf fans love to see.

Golfers are also posting tweets, videos and instragraming on how they give back to the community as well. Jason Dufner is a prime example due to his participation in charity events and contributions in community service. All of these tatics have improved the attendance at golf majors and has revealed to the sports community that professional golfers are just as exciting and entertaining as any other professional athlete.

The video that i posted relates to my topic because it shows that golf is more than just a serious game, there is humor involved in golf, and it is ok to joke and have fun of the golf course, which should make people want to play golf more and want to watch the GPA more often. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbxIAeu83Z8

New Media is on the rise, the internet is now more accessible and available and many companies and organizations are eager to reach a broader public through social media participation. This channel of communication allows for quicker diffusion of information between fans and organizations. It also allows for fans to create there own content with pictures and videos. Nearly all leagues and teams in all sorts of sports are already participating in social media. So much so that even sports journalists cannot be credible without a twitter account. Since the internet is not limited to local markets marketing through these sites is essential for any business in the sports market.

New media has become commonplace in many homes and offices but not so much in the arena setting. New part owner of the Sacramento kings Andrew Miller has plans to change that. the former Apple executive in charge of the Iad department is now head of the technology committee for the Sacramento Kings arena set to open in 2016. Miller plans on upgrading the wifi in the arena and possibly implementing hands free tablets in the back of seats where fans can post on the jumbo tron, search stats, and order food from their seats. The folling link provides an interview with andrew miller.

As technology is becoming more and more advanced in our society, sport communication is also changing . There are many different nontraditional forms of communication in 2013 to help reach out to various populations.

What is Tumblr?

Its both a simple blogging site and social network combined as you can share pictures, video, and text.

How popular is Tumblr?

80 million posts a day!

The tactics that they are trying to employ is the fact that they are trying to reach the younger population, and using social media such as Tumblr, they know that high school and college age students are constantly on Tumblr and other social media.

They are hoping to achieve more involvement from fans, and one of those ways is using Tumblr to show their creativity. Tumblr is one way for sport fans to feel like they are more involved with their favorite teams, and it gives them something new and exciting to try! Sports are very popular and so many people keep up with their favorite teams, Tumblr gives them more information, resources, and most importantly, a place for them to post their favorite game memories, pictures, and etc. People want this, they want the chance to show the world what their experience was from watching the games in March Madness, SuperBowl, and other sport games. One thing that as a society we are finding out is that people want to be heard: social media can account for this. Sport loving fans want to be able to document their own experience from watching a game, and that is why they came up with the idea to have the fans post on Tumblr during the games of March Madness.

Tumblr is just one of the many nontraditional forms of communication to achieve their purposes, along with incorporating Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc… The options are endless. It’s all about having a large network of people spreading sport news.

Communication is constantly changing as technology advances more and more. There are many good uses for social media in sport industry and Tumblr is just one of them put to good use.

The video gives a brief description to those who are unfamiliar with the sport of rodeo in the event of Tie-Down roping.

After years of being behind, the sport of rodeo finally upgrades. Television is not new, but in the sport of rodeo, it’s fairly new. Along with their website, the few technology that have contributed to the Professional Cowboys and Cowgirls of the sport are the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) app available to mobile devices, and using technology to help pay the rodeo contestants.

Before rodeo contestants had to wait in line in order to get their paycheck. Rodeo contestants, make a living like any professional athlete, they have to compete and perform amongst the best, and of course they have to make a living by getting paid. RodeoPay is like online banking; fees get paid to PRCA commissioners, checks can be deposited into banking accounts, and they can also get checks through this technology. It is simple for contestants and other rodeo personnel to use RodeoPay.com; they can have their money available to them using RodeoPay. Karl Stressman states,

With RodeoPay, the money you win is deposited directly into your bank account within two to three days of a rodeo ending. Karl Stressman, 2012.

RodeoPay is not only available for contestants use, but for other people who contribute to putting up a PRCA rodeo. The sport of Rodeo is finally rolling on the ball. Rodeo contestants provide feedback to PRCA committee members on how they could continue to provide and keep up to date with technology for upcoming Rodeo contestants.

Stressman sums it up on the sport of rodeo and technology bonding together in the near future.

ProRodeo is in some ways a very traditional sport with deep roots in this country’s history, but there’s no reason not to constantly challenge ourselves to take advantage of new technology to improve this business for all involved, most importantly our members. Karl Stressman, 2012.

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